Chapter 22

Hinata and Kiba had been gone long enough the sky behind the clouds darkened shadowing the cave even further. Kakashi had stood and moved to the mouth of the cave. Watching for our teammates. "I'm going to try it." I whisper feeling his growing worry, making him look back in my direction. Closing my eyes I tug on my energy tentatively half worried that I would feel sick again.

Expanding my energy outwards I slowly push it over the area only wanting to look as far as I need to. In case that sound happens again. Kakashi waits patiently probably only now realizing how I used to fight with my eyes covered. Standing I walk up next to him to the cave opening. Finally opening my eyes I smirk feeling him watching me. For some reason, I don't feel quite so alone. "They're on their way back." I speak as I look up at his warm gaze. "They are being careful and not moving too quickly so we have a few minutes before they get here."

"I see, pull your jutsu back for now." I nod to him and withdraw my energy, limiting it to only the cave. I look up feeling a bat shake its fur almost as if it was still attempting to rid itself of the water from the rain. "Kira." Kakashi's voice pulls my attention back to him. Nearly tilting my head I give him a smile before turning my back to him so I was facing more towards the inside of the cave.

"Kakashi, you are a serious person. Easily bored with trivial situations. You are filled with pain so you use your books to try and escape from it. You aren't easily hurt by words just as you wouldn't really allow yourself to react openly if you did indeed feel the sting. You are a private person and you like to keep yourself at arm's length away from everyone, probably to prevent adding to your inner pain." I take a few steps away from him before looking over my shoulder to meet the gaze I could feel on me. "We are more alike than most could ever realize with their own emotions clouding their eyes. So please, don't ever underestimate my deduction skills again. You are the one person I trust to react seriously to me without toying with me or trying to use me for their own agenda." I give him a smile before walking to the end of the cave and setting back down.

I could tell from the look in his eye he was about to say something before Hinata walks into the cave taking his attention away from me. Saved by the bell. I nearly smirk as he turns to look at her. "How'd it go, any leads?"

Hinata brushes the excess water off of her jacket before she turns to Kakashi. Kiba lands in front of the cave and begins walking in out of the rain. "I wasn't able to find anything." She speaks to him with a hint of exasperation lacing her words.

"Same here, unfortunately." Kiba pipes up as Akamaru shakes trying to dry his soaked fur. "There's not much we can really do in weather like this. Makes it almost impossible to pick up a scent."

Kakashi sighs. "Not what I was hoping for." It was then a new bat in the cave drips water down on Kiba as it tries to free itself from the rain. He grunts and looks up at the bats as if he was about to yell at them in order to scare them off.

"Even the bats are taking shelter." He growls before his eyes widen and he gasps. "The bats!" He breathes in realization.

"I'll go out and take one more look around." Hinata says standing between Kiba and Kakashi. Determined to not give up.

"Wait a minute!" Kiba speaks up drawing their attention, making Hinata turn slightly to look over her shoulder at him. "Don't go." With those words, Hinata makes a sound of question now more fully turning to him.

"Why? What is it, Kiba?" Kakashi asks looking away from Hinata and to Kiba as they both take note of Kiba's urgency.

"Well, I haven't been able to stop thinking about that dog-whistle for some time now." Kiba grunts making me stand up and walk towards them.

"What about it?" I ask him drawing his eyes to me, serious about what he was going to say.

"It just hit me, there's another animal that uses ultrasonic frequency." I found myself tilting my head before my eyes widen. "Yes, right there." He states as I look up to the roof of the cave. Making Kakashi grunt in thought.

"Got ya, so the enemy is manipulating a bat." He comments as he looks back to Kiba and I frown. Bat sonar? Is that what affected me?

"How do we know which one?" Hinata asks.

"I don't know." Kiba responds to her. "It's kind of hard to say right now, but we better proceed with caution, or we'll be opening ourselves up to the enemy's detection. In fact, they may have spotted us already." I shake my head keeping quiet as I cross my arms.

"Once that crystal sample is analyzed back at the village we'll have some idea of what to do next. Right now, our hope lies in Shino's insects." Kakashi states looking at me. Probably thinking along the same lines as I am. They already know we are here, and they are most likely ready for us. Probably just using the bats now to keep an eye on our location.

"Too bad he's not here." I mention looking up at the bats. "Could be a long shot but he would be able to put his bugs on the bats and track them." I mutter before walking outside. Leaning against the side of the cave I raise my head and close my eyes, enjoying the feeling of the cold rain on my face. This entire mission has bothered me. I haven't dealt with Orochimaru's goons since the chunin exams three years ago. And knowing him, he hasn't given up on obtaining me.

The night passes slowly as Kakashi started a fire so they could dry off. The two other chunin on our team fell asleep with the warmth as Kakashi sat in front of them. Keeping an eye out over them. I had eventually walked into the cave and took off my coat laying it near the fire to dry. Kakashi and I set there in silence until the fire burns out. At the first rays of morning, the rain eventually stops. The sun was finally able to begin peeking through the clouds.

Walking outside with my coat slung over my right shoulder I look up at the early morning sky. The clouds were dispersing giving a view to the brilliant blue hue. I could feel Kakashi move from his position in the cave from where he had been leaning against the wall for the last couple of hours. His steps were silent to not disturb the others as he comes up next to me. I feel him glance in my direction before looking up at the brightening sky as well. I can tell there is something weighing on his mind. Troubling him even if he is hiding the fact very well.

Tilting slightly I nudge him with my shoulder getting his attention away from the sky and erasing that distant look to his eye. I look up at him and smile gently before moving to walk back into the cave. The pain that radiates through him. I can understand all too well. Reminding him he isn't alone is all I can do.

My heart stops as I feel Kakashi move, his warm glove-covered hand curling around my right wrist officially stopping my movements. Long ago, in the death note world. I realized I had a power around me. People trust me when they are near me enough. Some are weaker-willed than others. I had expected something like this with Kakashi, but not quite so soon. Closing my eyes I nearly look down from my thoughts. It's always the same. I never can know if how someone feels is from this power, or if it's real. Even with Itachi, I couldn't seem to get myself to feel too deeply for him. I care about him greatly, I worry for him, I miss him. But love? Even I can't answer that.

I am no longer as naive as I was in the death note world. Gripping hopelessly onto childish beliefs. From watching the members of the Akatsuki over these last three years only forced me to realize. Light loved me, but there is no telling if his emotions were truly his own. Because of that, I feel the pain of his death to this day but it is no longer as strong. I know I loved him, with every fiber of my being. But, this damn power of mine. It's quite possible that when I was in a coma Light had realized his emotions waned. Lessening enough that he was able to move on. He didn't truly love me, as no one can ever do so. They only act from an inhuman power pulling them to me.

I nearly sigh before looking towards Kakashi, falling back into my role. I give him a warm smile as his eye though gentle, wavers with his own thoughts. Turning in his grip I step up to him and place my left hand up on his right bicep. Dropping my jacket on the ground I raise my free hand and gently rest my fingers against his shoulder as I keep my gaze locked with his. It is now I can feel his heart pounding in his chest, from my touch. At one point I had told myself it didn't matter. That I could act as I care for Itachi because he eases my pain and I, his. But, am I really right? The grip on my wrist loosens before I feel his fingertips moving down my hand almost hesitantly. He takes a hold of my hand into his own and I let him raise it. Resting it against the chest of his vest, his other slipping around my waist pulling me closer to him. "Kira." He says quietly and I tilt my head a bit. "I know you love.."

I shake my head cutting his words off. "If you mean Itachi. No, I don't love him." I tell him before I move to step out of his hold. His grip on me tightens causing me to stop. Looking away from him I lean my head forward. Resting my forehead against his bulky jacket next to our hands. He then releases my hand and I feel his other arm slip around my waist. Raising my head I look up to see his warm onyx eye on me. Pushing to my toes I bring myself up closer to his height. My eyes practically closing as my lips nearly touch his mask over his. I can't... I don't want to hurt him more than I already am. This man... was the first to accept me into this world. I trust him, as I care for him. I shouldn't continue to be selfish.

Pulling away from him as I feel Hinata begin to stir I step out of his arms and pick up my coat I had inevitably dropped. Moving back into the cave I feel Kakashi's eyes on me. "Alright, time to wake up." I speak up to finish rousing Hinata and make Kiba groan. I watch as he rolls onto his back and gazes up at the ceiling. The look in his eyes told me that in his groggy sleep-filled mind, it took him a few moments to realize where he was.

Kakashi finally comes up next to me with his hands in his pockets. "We will head out soon." He states for them as Hinata rubs her eyes. Turning I go to walk back to the mouth of the cave. Looking outside while the other two prepare to leave. Pulling my coat back on and buttoning it up I try to ignore how periodically Kakashi's eye glances in my direction.

Walking out of the cave the four of us move to the trees. Kiba kneels down as Akamaru begins to sniff the ground. He clicks his tongue in irritation. "It looks like the rainwater must have washed away any trace of scent we did have." Akamaru raises up and whines making Kiba look at him.

"Don't be so disappointed." Kakashi says drawing our attention to him as he looks at all of us. "Remember, they're using bats to observe us. We know that either their base is in the vicinity, or for some reason, they're compelled to stick around here."

"Okay, so you are saying that there is a possibility that sooner or later we'll have to face them?" Kiba asks standing up and I put my right hand on my hip glancing at him.

"That question is obvious." I sigh making Kiba move his gaze to me with a growl.

"Hmm?" Kakashi says as he looks to the side. "You're back." He points out in surprise making the others lose focus with sounds of question as they turn to look towards the cave. Shino walks up to us and holds out his right hand as bugs begin to crawl from under his coat and onto the back of his hand.

"Nice! So you did find them." Kiba says excitedly with a pump of his arm in victory.

"We're very lucky." Shino says looking down at the bugs on his arm. "I found a female insect that survived with her eggs intact. And even better, they just hatched. It's the next generation." I very nearly curled my lip in disgust. I am really disliking these bugs. A possible asset. Yes, but they are also an annoyance, an irritation, and gross.

"So this insect is resistant to the crystal jutsu?!" Kiba shouts happily.

"Yes, there's a good chance it has a high tolerance. However.." Shino sighs dropping his arm to his side.

"The problem is, do we have enough?" Kakashi asks watching Shino.

"Right." Shino breathes making Kiba sigh, the excitement fading almost as quickly as it showed.

"And here I thought we had some great countermeasure to fight them with." Kiba grumbles with disappointment.

"Kakashi Sensei... I need more time." Shino requests lowly.

"What are you going to do?" Kakashi asks him seriously as if he is truly debating about allowing him to take the time he needs.

"Increase their numbers." Shino says in a tone that very nearly had my arms crawling in goosebumps. "Drastically."

"Understood." I look at Kakashi with a brow raised drawing a glance from him in the corner of his eye. "We need a solution before we face them." He says and I know he was meaning that for me. "So do what you have to but, hurry."

"Of course." Shino says as Kakashi turns to face us completely again.

"Well then, what do we do?" He asks himself as he thinks. "Thanks to the bats, the enemy already knows our location. They could take action against us at any moment."

"The enemy will either pull back knowing that confrontation with us would waste a lot of time, or they'll hit us hard." Hinata states her opinion with certainty.

"In any case, our mission is to capture the bad guys and extract information out of them. No matter what if we lose track of the enemy, something tells me they'll become a big problem for the Hidden Leaf." Kiba says and I look away from them.

"I can see that they will hit us hard." I mutter. "Knowing Orochimaru, he wouldn't want anyone interfering with whatever it is he is up to. They'll want to take us out before we figure out what that is. Right now, they are just waiting for something.." I nearly cuss as I turn around looking towards the trees. "Damn it." I growl unable to hold back anymore.

"What is it, Kira?" Kakashi asks as they look at me muttering sounds of confusion as I curl my fingers into fists.

"We lost focus." I tell them.

"What do you mean?!" Kiba finally yells at me like he's been itching to do this entire mission.

"I mean, we've been out here searching for them, at one time we located two of them. We figured out that for some reason they were here either because their hideout is nearby or for some reason, they are sticking around. If we look at it as if they were waiting for something that means they were waiting for the leader of their little group. From the guys that ran into me, I would have to say this crystal user might be their leader. It's possible, the one we had wanted to avoid had left them at some point and they've just been hiding out until the user returns, possibly with orders from Orochimaru." I click my tongue and press my thumb and pointer finger to my temples with my right hand.

Kakashi sighs. "It means that if we were to find them it would have been better to do so sooner."

I nod to him. "It's possible. When they come at us hard they'll have regrouped together, and facing the crystal user will be inevitable."

"Guess all we can do is try to find them before their leader returns, then." Kakashi points out and I drop my hand nodding to him.

"Right, well time to head out." Kiba says with a sigh. "Shino, try to catch up soon, ok?"

"Okay." Shino was barely able to say anything before Hinata speaks up.

"You shouldn't have any trouble tracking us, good luck." As soon as she says her farewell all of us jump into the trees leaving Shino behind. Just like I have this entire mission, I take up position behind Kakashi as we move through the trees.

"Kira." Kakashi says over his shoulder looking in my direction after we had moved through the trees a bit. Huh? I grunt a sound of question as I push forward so I was next to him. "What would you say we do?" He asks me with a serious tone making me look ahead of us before stopping my movements and landing upon a branch. Placing my hand on the bark in thought.

I close my eyes and take a steadying breath before I smirk. "Since I need to be careful of how I use my energy blanket and Akamaru can't smell the enemy… We can track the eyes." When I get the sounds of confusion from them that I was hoping for I couldn't help but lightly laugh. "The bats."

As soon as I said that Kakashi's eye widens then he looks at Kiba. "Can you do it?"

"No sweat!" Kiba smirks and Akamaru barks before they take off. Pushing us to follow them. With Hinata behind us as I move next to Kakashi with Kiba on Akamaru ahead of us. A newfound determination in our movements.

"Good work." Kakashi says quietly making me smile at him before I shrug. Pushing forward I come up next to Kiba and Akamaru, using my limited reach with my energy to keep a feel out around us for the enemy. Better we know where they are before they see us.

"I picked up a scent, Sensei." Kiba says looking over his shoulder. "It's coming from our 2 o'clock."

"Good, then we'll take a detour." Kakashi says before he pushes past us redirecting our movements.

"You mean you think we can slip past the bats' formation unseen then huh."

"Bats can only sense things a limited distance away. There's lots of obstacles to shield us in the woods. If we keep far enough from them, they'll have a hard time pinning us down."

"I see." Hinata says as she comes up next to Kiba and I push forward to move next to Kakashi, tightening our formation.

"Then again, we can't completely get out of their search area, or they'll get suspicious." My eyes shoot to their corners as I grab Kakashi's arm and pull him back successfully silencing him. Forcing him and the others to stop. He makes a sound of question before I point in front of me. "I see, how far?"

"Another minute or two and Akamaru would have been able to alert you." I mutter then look to Hinata.

"Right." She says understanding my glance and activating her Byakugan. She then shakes her head. "Sorry, but they are still too far for me." I was afraid of that.

"200 meters. There are five hiding in the trees. Then again another 500 meters on a cliff, one is standing on her own. My guess, that's the crystal user."

"Right, then let's go." Kakashi says pushing forward. "Kira, keep an eye on them but, be careful." I nod to him and follow alongside him. -With knowing where to go I assumed he would move faster.- I thought watching him as he jumps from branch to branch. But if we did that, the enemy would know that we found them. I nearly sigh at how slow my brain is moving. Maybe it has been too long since I've last slept.

Leaping out of the trees and onto the ground we spread out to different hiding locations. I slip behind a tree closing my eyes as Kakashi finds another tree close to mine. Hinata, Kiba, and Akamaru were ducking behind separate bushes in front of us. "I see it, and they look like chakra of, shinobi." She gasps as I push from my tree. He's fast! I open my eyes moving towards Kakashi before the others even utter sounds of realization of what is happening. An earth-shattering impact causes dust and debris to kick up where Kakashi was standing. "Watch out!" Hinata yells as the torpedo comes into full view, rearing his overly huge fist back in a punch that only seems to get larger. "So you must be the leader huh?!" The large man with short brown hair yells. In mid-throw I come between him and Kakashi. Placing my hand on his fist, just as Kakashi turns around raising his arms up to block, and throwing my body to the side. Using my opposite hand to redirect his movements and throw him over Kakashi.

"Kira!" Kakashi calls after me just as I go to chase after the large man in the direction he flew to. Stopping I look back at him with a smile before continuing my chase leaving him with the others. My mission, to confront the enemy's attack. Kakashi, your mission is to help those chunin.

Catching up to him as he lands I jump off a tree and slam my foot into his face before he can even make it to his feet. Causing him to fall against a tree face first. Landing on the ground I put my hands in my pockets watching him get up. "I, was after your leader." He grunts as he looks at me.

"Do you think he's the leader because he looks older?" I ask him tilting my head. "That is a misconception." As I speak he seems to disappear I sigh and jump to my right as his huge fist crashes into the ground. I turn back to him as I pull my hand from my pocket. Sending my energy into my hand, hardening it, and letting it extend out into my energy blade. His eyes widen as I hold my blade close enough to his neck the top layer of his skin peels away.

"But.. How?" He asks in shock, his movements stilled by my blade.

"I've fought harder opponents than you. Each one met their ends." I tell him. "It's pointless to continue and try to fight. Give it up and come with me."

"I think not." He says with a smile. I very nearly step back in shock as his size shrinks. Going from a huge behemoth to one slightly smaller than normal size. He glances at me a moment. I no sooner felt him move than he shouted. "Over here!" From my right. I smirk as my energy blade visibly loses its form. Only managing to cover my right side before his foot kicks against my shield. Leaning onto my left leg as I slip it behind me I steady my stance as he pushes me back from the force.

He disappears again and I look up at the treetops. He's moving through my energy blanket almost faster than I can pick him up. His speed has significantly increased and his attacks are stronger than ever before. I close my eyes tracing his movements, ignoring the pain in my arm caused by the force that had impacted against my shield. I barely managed to stave off that attack. Another one and he very well will shatter my arm.

Leaping to my left his fist crashes into the tree behind me. Before I feel him kick off the ground and move through the air again. Rolling forward his foot slams into the ground. His moves are unsophisticated. Easy to project. I can almost tell where he is going to go before he does himself. Sending my energy back into my hand I sharpen my sword as I jump off the ground in time to miss another punch. Throwing my arm out while in my dodge the scent of blood reaches my nose.

"Too easy." I laugh opening my eyes, seeing my blade struck him in the shoulder. Instead of screaming like everyone usually does when meeting my energy. He disappears again, ripping himself off my blade, leaving only his scent of blood behind. "Well, his speed comes in handy running away."

"Are you alright?" Kakashi questions as the others including Shino run up behind me. Turning I pull my energy back undoing my blade.

"He got away." I inform him with a sigh before I look over the rest of them. You guys seem a bit.. disheveled." I point out and Kakashi sighs.

"Our guys used a smokescreen they could fight in." Kiba says and rubs his nose. "We were fighting blind." Oh, I get it. "Ours got away too."

"They accidentally neutralized your Sharingan." I point out looking from Kiba to Kakashi who sheepishly rubs the back of his head. "Lucky them." I smirk.

"This battle's far from over." Kakashi says looking out through the trees. "And whoever it is using that jutsu, they're still out there." I sigh and flex my right hand beneath the sleeve of my coat. Making certain that it was healed.